The content of this article
provides interesting history, facts and information about
the Emperor Gallienus who ruled the empire of Ancient Rome. Read about the life of Gallienus who can be described or
remembered as:

"Famine,
Plague and the 'Thirty Tyrants"

Short Biography
about the life of Gallienus
Short Biography profile and facts about one of the most famous Romans of all, in the life of
Gallienus, Emperor of Rome and provinces of the Roman Empire.

Interesting facts
about the life of Gallienus
Obtain a fast overview of the times of the Roman Emperor
Gallienus from the following facts and information about his life. Why was Gallienus
famous? Accomplishments, achievements and important
events. Valerian the father of Gallienus seized power via a
military coup. His first act as emperor was to make his son
Gallienus his co-emperor. Both Gallienus and his father
sought to repel the attacks of innumerable enemies on every
side of the empire including the Goths, the Franks, the
Scythians and the Persians. In 259AD a campaign against the
Persians culminated in a humiliating Roman defeat at the
Battle of Edessa. Valerian was taken prisoner and his entire
70,000 strong Roman force was killed or captured. Gallienus
made no attempt to free his father and Valerian languished
for nine years in captivity until his death.

Interesting facts
about the life of Gallienus
The Allemanni, meanwhile, had entered Italy, ravaged its
northern territory and even threatened Rome. They withdrew,
loaded with plunder. To gain allies among the barbarians,
Gallienus married the daughter of the king of the Marcomanni.
Every part of the empire was been laid open to the invaders.
Greece was ravaged by the Goths; the famous Temple of Diana
at Ephesus was burned by them, together with the city. Sapor,
king of the Persians, overran Syria and Asia. He was,
however, finally repelled by the brave Odenatus, who, with
his queen Zenobia, ruled at Palmyra.

Gallienus - Threat by Usurpers, the
'Thirty Tyrants'
A crowd of usurpers rose in arms against the weak Gallienus.
There were nineteen pretenders to the throne according to
Gibbon, but this period is usually known as that of the
'Thirty Tyrants'. In order to reduce the threat of usurpers
Gallienus forbade senators from becoming military
commanders. This policy undermined senatorial power, as more
reliable military commanders rose to prominence. This
terrible period was also marked by the plague, which
continued for fifteen years in every province. Five thousand
people died daily at Rome for some time. Roman cities were
depopulated and the number of Romans declined. A famine
preceded and attended the plague and earthquakes were
common.

The Death of Gallienus
Gallienus made his greatest achievements during at the
end of his reign. Having lost the greater part of the Gallic
empire he repelled an invasion of Goths and defeated the
Alamanni. Gallienus then moved on to lay siege to Mediolanum
(Milan). During the siege Gallienus' authority was
challenged and Gallienus was murdered in mysterious
circumstances in September 268. The death of Gallienus ended
the era of the Thirty Tyrants and the Barracks emperors.
Gallienus was officially succeeded by Marcus Aurelius
Claudius (Claudius II), who was suspected of being involved
in the conspiracy to murder Gallienus. Claudius II started
the rule of the Illyrian Emperors (268 - 285).

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